"He doesn't miss a practice. He's willing to work after practice," Cooney said. "The pace he is able to hold, he pushes the limits every single day."
Funny, Correnti thought when he heard his coach's compliment. The junior's mind turned to when he took up wrestling nine years ago.
"I used to be awful. People told me to quit the sport," said Correnti, who won a District 26 title and placed fourth in regions last year, and is the favorite to repeat in districts this weekend. "People told me I would never achieve anything. And I turned around and just decided that I was going to work as hard as I could to prove them wrong.
"I just decided that I wanted to be the best."
Part of Correnti's climb comes from having someone such as Cooney as a sparring partner. The coach said he's a big believer in teaching by example - a philosophy you can push to the limit when your team's best wrestler happens to be a perfect physical matchup with you.
Correnti credits those practices, those countless hours on the mat with a coach who is "incredibly quick for someone his size," as helping him develop more as a wrestler and not just as someone who relies on his natural brute strength.
"The things I'm doing now, I would never have done my freshman year," Correnti said. "I would definitely say that my coaching staff is the biggest reason why I've been able to develop myself as a wrestler these last couple of years."
One thing Correnti has always had a knack for is being able to overpower people. His ability to score pins is such a strength that it's almost a flaw at this point.
Correnti is 31-3 with 24 pins. More than a few of those came distressingly early in bouts.
"My coaches would rather have me going for tech falls," Correnti said. "They want to see me wrestle a little bit more. Basically, if I pin someone in the first, they're not happy."
Correnti enters the district tournament with confidence that comes from experience.
"But that experience also allows me to know that it's not going to be easy," he said. "It never is."
Neither Cooney nor Correnti would make any predictions for the rest of the season, but neither would be surprised to see the junior go deep into states.
Instead, as Cooney attempts to return Holy Cross to its glory days, he looks at Correnti as something of a launching point - an example of what's possible, a symbol of what hard work can do for a kid who was once an "awful" wrestler.
"It kind of shows," Cooney said, "if you're willing to come to Holy Cross and work hard, look at what's possible."
Contact Chris Melchiorre
at rallysports@phillynews.com.
